Electronic document management can increase document security compared to storing paper in filing cabinets.
When a document is filed electronically in a Document Management System, it is placed in a "folder" (a place in the database) that is protected by access security. This is called electronic document archiving or electronic document storage. Typically, an individual will have access only to files that fall into a narrowly defined category, and will not even be aware of the existence of other folders, files, or categories.
For example, in many organizations, sales personnel might have access to sales documents, customer documents that relate to sales, product files that relate to sales, etc. Accounting personnel might have access to payable and/or receivable files. But overall, their access will be limited to a small number of folders.
Manufacturing Workflow
At a manufacturing client of ours, management personnel of each production department have access to electronic documents that have been "sent" (made visible) to their department for use during production. In this environment, the Customer Service Department gathers all the documents relevant to a production order and then uses electronic document delivery to distribute the documents to the appropriate departments. As soon as their production for a work order is finished, their visibility to the documents supporting that work order is removed from the department. This is an example of electronic document workflow.
Historical Serial Number Retrieval
At another client, Customer Service personnel (CSR's) have access to historical invoices and historical work orders. When customers call in with questions or warranty issues about a specific serial numbered product, the CSR retrieves the information about the product by entering the serial number. In less than two seconds, the information is available from a database of invoices and work orders for more than 100,000 serial numbers. These personnel do not have access to any other documents in the database.
When a person signs on to the system, only the "folders" pertaining to that job position are visible in any fashion. Unlike a bank of filing cabinets that someone might leave unlocked, in the electronic system, the "filing cabinets" are not even visible.
Electronic document security is a giant step forward in many companies, but as these examples show, a document management system accomplishes much more than just improved security.